Agents will get access to health reform market

California’s new health insurance exchange allows anyone with a computer to shop for a policy with a few clicks of their mouse, but consumers who are confused by all of the available options will be able to turn to a licensed broker for help.

Covered California, the state agency operating the new exchange, announced last week that it is accepting online preregistration from licensed insurance agents interested in selling policies in the new venue. Federal health reform requires most Americans to buy insurance on Jan. 1, 2014, if they aren’t already covered.

Licensed insurance agents can sell exchange-listed plans only if they have been certified by Covered California, and getting certified requires passing a test after eight hours of in-person and four hours of online instruction.

Training is necessary because the new exchange offers the subsidized rates to some uninsured Californians, and small businesses, based on their economic status. Plans offered from a dozen different private insurance companies also are listed at different tiers corresponding to precious metals from bronze to platinum.

Kara Voelker, a group insurance broker with Teague Financial Insurance Services in La Mesa, said she believes brokers have an important role in helping Californians make sense of the options.

“An agent’s value comes in explaining the differences between the many different options that are available. Our goal is to have the breadth and depth of the marketplace for our clients,” Voelker said.

While insurance agents seem eager to learn about how the new exchange works, getting certified by the state is not yet possible despite the fact that the exchange is set to open on Oct. 1.

Craig Gussin, co-owner of Auerbach & Gussin Insurance and Financial Services and a board member of the San Diego Association of Health Underwriters, said most in the industry expected that the training would come in the late spring or early summer to give agents plenty of time to study. The fact that preregistration is just starting, he said, has gotten agents and brokers talking.

“It’s probably the biggest buzz out there right now. We want to sell Covered California, and we can’t do it unless we’re certified. Agents have been asking me for months ‘when can we get certified,’ ” Gussin said.

Voelker said she, too, is hearing some concern from agents.

“The biggest buzz around this is the lateness. People are becoming concerned that it’s not going to be complete when the exchange opens on Oct. 1,” Voelker said.

There is no doubt that California’s training is lagging behind other states. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opened its online training for brokers in the 27 states with federally operated exchanges on Aug. 1.

Given that California was the first state in the nation to receive approval from the government, it is not clear why agent training is not starting until September.

No information was available on why training is not starting until September or on when it was originally planned to start.

Larry Hicks, a spokesman for Covered California, said the state hopes to train more than 10,000 insurance agents and added that the work is expected to be complete when the exchange opens on the first day of October.

In addition to agents, the state is also training 20,000 certified enrollment counselors who will work with community-based organizations across the state to help Californians understand their options when trying to decide which plan to buy.

“We’re using many channels to reach our target demographic, which is the more than 5 million Californians eligible to buy insurance through our exchange,” Hicks said.

He said insurance agents will have their own Internet portal into the exchange, allowing them direct access for the clients they represent. Agents, he added, will continue to earn commissions on the plans they sell according to their existing agreements with insurance companies.

Covered California released a narrow set of rate information for its individual marketplace in May with seven companies offering a total of nine plans in San Diego County. On Aug. 1, the exchange also released information on small-business plans.